Second look, first kiss
by Artemisa-arcanum
Summary: A talk by the lake and a careless remark. Funny how an on the spot decision can change everything. Before HBP, could be edited to fit it.


Summary - A talk by the lake and a careless remark. Funny how an on-the-spot decision can change everything.

Disclaimer - All characters belong to the talented J.K.Rowling and the nice people at Warner. The plot is inspired by her work except what you don't recognize. But if she who owns HP likes this, she can have it, provided I survive the heart attack at finding out that she does.

Disclaimer #2 - The first kiss probably won't happen like this. I wanted it sweet without it being saccharine. Surprising both, but not committing them to anything just yet.

ooo

**First look, First kiss**

Harry headed to his favorite spot by the lake, close enough to the Whomping Willow to discourage passersby and partially concealed from the main views. He'd been coming to this place for a while and only a few friends knew where to look for him when he went missing. When he got there, he was surprised to see Ginny sitting there.

"Hi"

"Hi, I was waiting for you," she said smiling. "I didn't mean to intrude in your space."

"I'd better warn you, I'm probably not good company at the moment." He said dropping his books on the side and letting the breeze of the afternoon wash over him as he stood. She shrugged away the concern. "What's up?" He asked her.

"Tom bothering you?" She asked with a concerned look on her face. He nodded trying to seem nonchalant about it. Taking the hint, she did not push the point. "Did you talk to Ron last night?"

"Did you talk to Hermione?" He countered with a raised eyebrow, looking down at her.

"I asked first."

He gave a half-hearted laugh. "I can't believe how stubborn he's being about this. I don't know how I'm going to get them talking before the week is out."

"And Hermione is such a sweet girl. She's insisting he has to apologize for what he said. Of course, no mention was made of what _she_ said."

"I hate it when they fight."

She watched him with curiosity as he sat down beside her, his arms resting on his knees in front of him and looking over the placid water of the lake. "Why?" She inquired.

"I just do." He said morosely. "I just wish they would just say what they've been wanting to say for so long and get moving."

Ginny shot a surprised look at him "What exactly are you saying?"

"Please. Even Binns can see it. They are so head over heels over each other that they can't see straight."

He mouth dropped open in surprise and demanded "_You_ know?"

"I may be self-absorbed, but I'm not blind, Gin." He replied.

There was wonder in her voice. "Then you don't mind if they do get together, eventually."

"No." He could see her puzzlement at his reaction. Harry's eyes narrowed as he questioned her. "Why would I mind? They are my best friends. I want them to be happy."

She seems a bit nervous to respond. "Its just... Well, there are a lot of people who think it will be _you_ and Hermione getting together."

"Hermione? She's like a sister to me." Genuine surprise. _Haven't they been paying attention?_ "I love her, but I'm not_ in _love with her. Ron is."

"So, is there another lucky girl out there who has captured the great Harry Potter's attention?"

"I wouldn't know. I haven't even met 'The Great Harry Potter'. How would I know if he fancies anyone?"

She frowns at him and he feels the need to explain his denial. "The great Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived. I'm not that guy, Gin. I'm just plain Harry."

She's looking at him as if she does not believe him. As if she has never seen him and just met him. He looks away frustrated with her. Ginny was supposedly over his crush with him, but she looked like she still believed he was the person in the books and in the papers, not himself.

"Well, does _plain_ Harry fancy anyone?" She asked tentatively.

"Are you inquiring for yourself or for the Tower gossip?" He deflected.

"Just as a friend. Seamus needs to make his own inquiries if he wants to know." She responded with a smirk, wondering if he'd actually answer the question.

Harry decided to try the martyr card. "It' not like I have a shot with anyone."

"Not all girls are weeping messes like Cho." She informed him.

"Is there anyone at Hogwarts who doesn't know about that?" He wondered a bit exasperated.

"Probably a couple of first years." She said somewhat sympathetically. "And most of the Slytherins, nobody is cruel enough to let them know."

"Great." He said resignedly. Then deciding to answer once and for all, he continued. "No Gin, I don't fancy anyone in particular. Besides, with my life expectancy, it would be a mistake."

"_What_ did you just say?" She demanded in an icy tone.

"Voldemort is after me. Chances are he'll get me one of these days." He said with a low voice.

Full Weasley temper started up, bubbling like a volcanic eruption. It was amazing to see. "He has tried to kill you five times and _failed_ at it and you still think he has a chance?"

"Six actually. One more if you count his minions." Harry said lightly. "Two other very near misses indirectly related to him. My nine lives are already spent."

She opened her eyes wider, most of her anger vanishing in a moment like a spent firecracker after the initial explosion. "Nine times..."

"Once you survive the first it kind of becomes a habit, I guess."

"Well in that case, you don't have anything to worry about. You're just making excuses so you won't have to let someone know you care."

He turned to her in surprise. "That's not what I said Ginny. He's made me a target for whatever reason and I have to admit that I worry the luck is going to run out. That does not mean I'm not interested in girls."

"So, will you tell whoever it is? She deserves to know."

"There isn't anyone in particular Ginny. Not like the way I know Ron and Hermione like each other. Nothing like that." _There's only a couple that could ever come close and I'm too much of a coward to try. _

"You sound a bit jealous."

He sighed. "I am. Not because of Hermione, but because I wish I knew what its like. Because I don't get how can he stand not telling her or her him. I really don't get all the fights."

"It's just some UST."

"UST? Unknown spell transference? Unusually short temper? Unreasonably suspicious twits?" He hazarded.

A mischievous smile lit her face, "Unresolved sexual tension."

Harry's mouth dropped open and then closed. He bit his lip but the amusement was bubbling as the phrase repeated itself in his mind. He started to shake as he tried to control the laughter, but it quickly got away from him. He momentarily placed his head on his knees, he ended up laying back on the grass howling with laughter.

"You're terrible," he said gasping for air.

"I know." Came the self-satisfied remark.

"Where did you... Forget it. I _don't_ want to know where you got it from."

She just winked at him cheekily.

Another bout of chuckles shook him. "For Godric's sake, Gin. These are my two best friends. I don't mind knowing they'll get together, but I do not want to know _anything_ beyond that."

"It's not any easier for me, you know. He's my _brother_."

"Point taken. We're both going to be traumatized by this." He agreed folding his arms behind his head on the ground and staring at the rolling autumn clouds. "I propose we drink large quantities of butterbeer when the time comes."

"I might take you up on that, Potter." She said laying next to him.

Harry decided then and there that Ginny losing her crush was the best thing that could have happened between them. He liked her attitude. Especially since she seemed to be immune to his bad temper. He knew he scared Ron and Hermione at times, but Ginny never balked at putting him in his place.

He liked to think they were friends now.

The restlessness seemed to have taken him over again. Harry moved along the lake shore making stones skip across the water as Ginny watched him. "Do you think we should do something to get them pointed in the right direction?" He asked.

She responded lightly. "You mean beyond of placing them under the mistletoe together come this Christmas time?"

He analyzed the proposal as if were the greatest plan ever. "I like it. It's simple, direct and has deniability. If we don't come with anything better by then, I think I'll try it."

Ginny laughed. "Spoken like a Weasley. Except for the fact that none of my brothers are very subtle and this would require finesse." She pondered the problem. "Of course, the fastest way for them to get over their current fight is you."

"What do you mean?"

"If they think _you're_ in trouble or hurt..."

"You mean if I fall off my broom during Quidditch practice or something they'll forget about their tiff?"

"It would be even better if you make _Ron_ fall off his broom. Hermione would be at his side so fast his head would spin."

"Too risky. I don't want to get him hurt."

"You could always fake another vision or something like that. Nothing like your scar hurting for them to forget everything else." Some of her frustration at their clique-ish ways came out in the comment. The three of them formed their little conclave and at times her isolation rankled.

He seemed to turn into stone at her suggestion, rigid and unmoving. It looked like her words had the same effect as a basilisk's reflected gaze. Then, with visible effort, he relaxed but she could see he was withdrawing from her. Without taking a step it felt as if he were miles away.

Time stretched and she was hesitant on how to return to their previous easy camaraderie. She felt shame in forgetting just what exactly he was going through. _She_ had been under Riddle's control for less than a year and she _still_ had nightmares about it. Harry had had to fight him for much longer than that. Against the _real_ one, not a memory of him.

She supposed this is how he had felt when she reminded him that she had been possessed by Tom. He had apologized sincerely for that. She should do it too. Yet she couldn't find the words for it. She had felt so hurt that he had forgotten, even when she had never, ever said a word about it herself. For all his withdrawn ways, Harry had never made the claim that nothing was happening to him in front of his friends. He had never hidden it.

She had just suggested that he use one of those horrible episodes to manipulate his friends. Her shame and regret doubled.

"I'd better go." She finally said.

She saw him take a deep breath that ended almost like a sigh. He started to speak." You don't have to leave, you know. I..." when he interrupted himself. He seemed to spasm with pain and a half-suppressed groan could be heard coming from him. Pain showed up quite plainly in his face as he swayed. Ginny stood and quickly grabbed him by the arm so he didn't lose his balance.

"Perfect timing." He gasped sarcastically as he leaned on her for support.

ooo

"Are you all right?" She asked.

"I will be." He said trying to focus on her face. The pain receded, so maybe that helped. He tried to shake away the feeling of overwhelming power. Of disregard of others' pain. He shuddered involuntarily.

"You _have_ been having visions and not telling them. Or anyone else." She stated letting go of his arm.

"Yeah." He admitted, feeling a pang of loss when the contact ended. He watched her worried eyes. "Please don't tell anyone about this."

"I don't think you should be alone with this, Harry." She said biting her lip.

"Dumbledore and Remus know. I always let them know." He said honestly avoiding her eyes. He did not want to see her pity.

"But Ron and Hermione would want to know."

"Gin, this happens a lot more often than I let on. The bond is getting stronger. I just hope I make him at least half as sick as he makes me. I don't think so, but I can hope. Lately, I barely know where he starts and I end." He had not meant to say that much, but once he started, it got away from him. He'd meant to downplay what was happening to him. He could see that Ginny was even more concerned now. "Really, I'll be fine." He added trying to reassure her.

Ginny only looked more determined and worried, he could see her mind working as she thought about the problem. "Does he feel what you feel too?"

"I don't know. When I have strong good feelings he seems to back away for a while. Nothing seems to work lately." He removed his glasses to rub his eyes for a moment and the world lost it's sharpness.

He still managed to spot the impish grin that broke in Ginny's face. "What?" he questioned letting his hand hang in mid air instead of replacing his spectacles right away.

Suddenly, she was right beside him, pulling his face down and kissing him firmly on the lips.

Rational thought shut down, but the rest of him was apparently smarter than that. He found himself kissing her back, his hands resting lightly on her waist. He could feel the warmth of her kiss filling him up, reminding him of the first time he held his wand, or the first time he rode a broom. Her lips were sweet, but also fiery, tasting almost like cinnamon and softer that he had ever imagined. Had he ever admitted imagining such a thing about his best friend's sister.

She pulled back from him, her face a few inches from his. This close, he could see her clearly even without his glasses. He could have counted every lash surrounding her brown eyes and the flecks of gold he had never noticed there, the freckles on her nose. The way her cheeks were dusted with pink. He saw some surprise in her eyes at first, but it was quickly replaced by mischievousness as she smiled.

"Well, that should work for a bit, I'd expect." She turned around and made her way back to the path at a quick pace. Leaving him there like the victim of a hit-and-run. _Kiss-and-run actually_.

Harry was still too overcome to stop her, but he found his voice somehow and called out to her. "You know, you could give a bloke the wrong idea doing something like that."

Ginny's head turned as she responded with laughter in her voice. "A girl can hope, can't she?" She threw over he shoulder, her red hair catching the sunlight and shimmering like a sunset.

Harry replaced his glasses and started to laugh as he watched leave at a near run. He had to admit he felt better than he'd felt in a long time. Ginny had certainly made her point, a bit more enthusiastically than he would have ever predicted. Of course, if her brothers found out what had just happened he could end up in the hospital wing for a week.

_Why did Michael let her get away? She's a handful._

ooo

Ginny moved away from him as fast as she could while her face flushed a deep Weasley red now that she was out of range of him. He had completely surprised her. Those remarkable green eyes of his had looked so vulnerable without the protection of his glasses on that she had decided then and there to plant one on him. Just to shake him up a bit. Part recklessness and part apology for her earlier comment. Small part curiosity at what it would be like. _Maybe not that small._

His lips had been cold as if he had been in shock, but they way he had kissed back burned into her. Fire and ice. She touched her lips remembering the sensation.

_How could Cho ever ditch him? The boy is lethal._

ooo

He lay back on the grass again looking at the sky distractedly. He couldn't help but play again the recent past in his mind. It had been nice. Much better than with Cho. He wondered why she had done such a thing. Even for a pick-me-up-kiss it had been memorable.

_Wait a second_, hadn't Ginny said to Ron that she was going out with Dean? He didn't think that Gin would go around kissing other blokes if that were true. Even if she felt sorry for them. He tried to remember if he had actually seen those two together. What came to him was a memory was Seamus and Neville teasing Dean about the current 'future Mrs. Thomas' which, according to them, seemed to change each month. Ginny had _not_ been mentioned in the list.

He smiled. He was willing to bet his Firebolt that Ginny had said that just to annoy Ron. If that were true, it meant that Ginny was not involved with anyone. Maybe he could... No, this was not something he was willing to explore until he sounded out Ron first, preferably from a running start.

_I'm pathetic. I'm actually considering dating a girl with six older brothers, one of them my best mate. And a mother that I'm certain has been planning the wedding since she saw me._ Not to mention the girl in question had been too involved with his alter ego to be comfortable with. And there was the sticky fact that anyone he cared for would automatically become a target.

He smiled again in spite of everything. _Well, I've never been known for taking the easy path_.

He wondered if he should let her know he knew or not. _Probably not, better let her let me know either way in case she really didn't mean anything with that kiss._ Deniability worked both ways after all.

ooo

If there was anyone that kept surprising her, it was Harry. She had watched him for years and a while back she would have claimed she knew all about him. All noble and good. A knight in shinning armor. Last year she would have said he was a clueless-temper-tantrum throwing idiot.

Lately, there had been glimpses into someone completely different.

Like today.

She wondered if he had always been like this and not seen it or if he was changing. _Maybe I should find out_. _Ron always did say that I didn't really know Harry. Maybe he was right. Who knew?_

Belatedly, she remembered that she had told Ron she was involved with Dean. To annoy him. Harry had been there and he had not seemed to care about it. Yet she knew that Harry would not make a move if he thought she was involved with someone else. She didn't know is she should disabuse him of the notion or use it as a buffer to get to know him better without risking the odd friendship they seemed to have now. She needed deniability in case she had read too much into that kiss.

Nice as it had been.

_hphphphphphp_

A/N - There you have it folks. Let me know what you think of this humble story.


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